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CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M make a midweek trip down Interstate 27 to face off against Lubbock Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 26. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Plainscapital Park in Lubbock.
 
WT and LCU met earlier this season at the LCU Invitational with the Lady Chaps coming out victorious after scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. 
 
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
The Lady Chaps are 10-2 on the season and 1-1 in Heartland Conference play after splitting a two-game series against Newman this weekend. LCU has played 11 of their games so far this season at home. 
 
The nation's highest scoring offense is led by Megan Darling as the senior is hitting .591 with four doubles and nine RBIs with a slugging percentage of .773. She has recorded a hit in four straight games including a three-hit performance in their win over NU on Sunday. Alivia Villarreal has started in all 12 games hitting .472 three doubles and a home run while driving in 15 runs. Morgan Dufour has hit a team-high two home runs.
 
The Lady Chaps pitching staff has an ERA of 3.55 led by Jordan Wehr's 2.30. The junior is 3-1 on the season in eight appearances and four starts in 24 1/3 innings allowing 14 runs (eight earned) on 26 hits with 14 strikeouts. Taylor Franco is 4-1 in five starts with an ERA of 2.65 in 31 2/3 innings allowing 19 runs (12 earned) with a team-high 32 strikeouts. Amber Carlton has also started in three games where she is 2-0 with an ERA of 5.88. 
 
Daren Hays is in his eighth season as the head coach where has accumulated a record of 342-88-7. In 2017, he led the Lady Chaps to their first Heartland Conference Tournament title with a pair of wins over St. Mary's. They would advance to the NCAA South Central Regional before falling 3-2 to Colorado Mesa. 
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE SERIES
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series 11-9 since their first meeting back on March 11, 2008 in Canyon. Since losing six of the first seven games, WT has won five of the seven including three straight in the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park. 
 
Candace Abrams is 0-2 all-time against the LCU with both games being played on the road.
 
STAT(S) OF THE DAY
The Lady Buffs are on a eight-game win streak following their first-ever three-game sweep of No. 1 Angelo State in San Angelo. It marked the second time in Lady Buff softball history that they had won three straight games at Mayer Field and first since March 2015. 
 
In their sweep over the Rambelles, WT hit .333 (29-for-87) with five doubles and four home runs with 26 runs batted in with only 20 strikeouts.
 
Kylee Moore currently leads the nation in home runs and total bases while ranking second in runs batted in. The Van, Texas products eight home runs are tied with Fort Lewis' Angelique Elemen for tops in DII while her 50 total bases are tied with ASU's Courtney Barnhill.
 
As a team, WT ranks second in home runs per game (2.0) and slugging percentage (.671) and fifth in on-base percentage (.475) and scoring (9.13). Since hitting four home runs in their opening six games, the Lady Buffs have hit 26 home runs in the past nine game including a NCAA record 10 against Western New Mexico on Feb. 16.
 
Ruby Salzman's collegiate career is off to an impressive start as the centerfielder is hitting .431 with four doubles and six home runs for 16 RBIs. She is currently riding a nine-game hit streak where she has hit four of her home runs.
 
Kyra Lair is a perfect 7-0 in her first nine career starts with an ERA of 4.60. The freshman has now gone the distance in three starts including consecutive starts last weekend at ASU. She also tied a career-high with six strikeouts in game one of the series against the Rambelles.
 
NFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Angelo State jumped five spots to No. 1 in the latest NFCA Division II Top-25 Poll after opening the season 13-1. ASU also received 8 of the 16 first-place votes for a total of 381 points followed by Saint Anslem (374), North Georgia (356), Southern Arkansas (348), Texas A&M-Commerce (336), Chico State (321), Valdosta State (303), Tarleton (283), Concordia Irvine (279) and West Florida to round out the Top-10. 
 
The South Central Region is represented by ASU (1st), TAMUC (5th), TSU (8th), Dixie State (13th) and Colorado Mesa (21st).
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Angelo State picked up 12 first-place votes to sit atop of the LSC preseason poll followed by WT (5 first-place, 256), Tarleton (4 first place, 255), Texas A&M-Commerce (5 first-place, 253), Cameron (1 first-place, 202), Texas A&M-Kingsville (1 first place, 176), MSU Texas (120), Texas Woman's (120), Eastern New Mexico (87), UT Permian Basin (65) and Western New Mexico (32).
 
UP NEXT
WT hosts MSU Texas this weekend, March 1-2, for a three-game series at Schaeffer Park. The Lady Buffs have won seven straight at home against the Mustangs.